Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) locked horns in the 45th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday (October 1).
Invited to bat first, KKR posted a competitive total of 165/7 in 20 overs on the back of opener Venkatesh Iyer’s 49-ball 67. Rahul Tripathi (34 off 26 balls) and Nitish Rana (31 off 18 balls) also made handy contributions with the bat.
For Punjab, Arshdeep Singh (3-32), Ravi Bishnoi (2-22) and Mohammad Shami (1-23) starred with the ball.
In reply, PBKS got off to a terrific start as the duo of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal added 70 runs for the opening wicket. After Agarwal’s dismissal, however, Punjab lost three wickets cheaply. Nicholas Pooran (12), Aiden Markram (18) and Deepak Hooda (3) failed to make a mark with the bat.
Although skipper Rahul held the one end firmly, his cautious approach wasn’t helping Punjab’s cause. But things turned around when Shahrukh Khan arrived in the middle and started attacking the KKR bowlers from the word go.
While Rahul got out in the last over for 55-ball 67, Shahrukh (22* off 9 balls) stayed there till the end and smashed Venkatesh Iyer for a six to take PBKS over the line with five wickets in hand and three balls to spare.
Cricket fraternity on Twitter lauded Punjab Kings for their run-chase and keeping their play-off hopes alive.
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